Encouraging Outcome for Māori Babies

Whakawhetu, New Zealand’s leading
Māori organisation for sudden infant death prevention,
welcomes the release of figures showing the number of Māori
infant deaths at record lows.

General Manager, Kodi Hapi
says that it is encouraging to hear about the low rates of
Māori infant mortality, but there is still work to be done
to protect our babies from sudden infant death.

Sudden
Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) is the leading cause of
death for children under the age of one. Every year 60
babies die in their sleep. Many of these babies are Māori
and most of these deaths were preventable.

“The
preventable loss of a single Māori baby is one too many”
says Kodi “We should not become complacent; we need to
remain focussed on SUDI prevention and continually look for
ways to improve.”

Many whānau are courageously changing
their parental practices and beating their smoking addiction
to protect their babies. This has greatly contributed to the
outcome and so many more lives can be saved if we continue
to stay focussed. We all need to work together so that
whānau can make every sleep a safe sleep for their little
ones.

“We have taken a multi-pronged approach” says
Kodi. “Changes are happening at a policy level, in
workforce development and with whānau. There is no one
solution to this problem; we need to work strategically
together, as a sector.”

While the solution may not be
simple, the message is simple. Whakawhetu has developed an
acronym and song to remind whānau how to protect their baby
from SUDI. P E P E is the Māori word for baby and stands
for;

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